I’ve Learnt That Giving Can Transform You For Good – Here’s How!

Community service is something all of us are told is a wonderful thing to do. But did you know it can transform you as well? Read on to understand how!

I am extremely fortunate to have been introduced to community service early in my childhood. My mother prioritised giving as one of the foundational values she wanted to raise me with.

I spent several summer breaks volunteering with other young girls in schools that served economically disadvantaged families. The twinkle in their eyes, their sharp wit and a hope for a better future for themselves will remain an important memory for me.

This experience drew my attention to socio-economic issues — inequality, disparity, and the growing divide between people with haves and have nots — in our society. This left a deep impression in my mind.

I learnt that the line that differentiated people with privilege and people without it wasn’t potential. It was opportunity.

My experience while volunteering

I realised that the best way to kindle hope among these young girls, was to give them the gift of time and attention. And partner with them to cultivate a sense of sisterhood.

Ever since I’ve spent substantial time mentoring young girls from different parts of the world. In doing so, I utilised my career as an opportunity to immerse myself in communities around the world to foster these connections and drive meaningful impact.

I developed a strong respect for mentorship. This Forbes article highlights mentorship to be one of the important pieces of advice for young college graduates.

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Here are some reasons why I believe giving is the greatest acts of compassion leading to self-care.

Time is all we have

We live in a world where we are defined and constrained by time.
Time is our greatest resource. A finite resource. All of us are living off of a carefully constructed time budget, rightfully so.

Donating time (doing community service) is the most generous forms of giving, and the more we give, the more time-affluent we feel. The greatest beneficiary of giving is, perhaps, oneself as there is renewed sense of hope and energy, leaving us feeling fulfilled.

Giving enhances the gratitude mindset

There’s evidence to prove that gratitude is the highest form of thought and the healthiest of all human emotions. The will to pay forward is, therefore, amongst the purest of intentions, I believe.

As the saying goes, gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.

“My socks may not match, but my feet are always warm”

Maureen Mccullough 

In mentoring young girls, I grew as a person. Encouraging them, serving as a sounding board, and connecting them to opportunities to make their life better enriched me.

Investing a few hours of my time was deeply satisfying in ways I had never imagined. And I felt rewarded for having influenced them in a positive way. That, in turn, made me feel grateful for all that I had in my own life.

This CNBC article that details beliefs and practices adopted by Oprah Winfrey, Tom Robins and Arianna Huffington as effective strategies to become successful makes for interesting reading.

Giving fights discontentment

In the book, Reasons to Stay Alive, Matt Haig makes profound remarks about the realities of our world. He says, “The world is increasingly designed to depress us. Happiness isn’t very good for the economy. If we were happy with what we had, why would we need more? How do you sell an anti-aging moisturiser? You make someone worry about ageing.

“How do you get them to buy insurance? By making them worry about everything. How do you get them to have plastic surgery? By highlighting their physical flaws. How do you get them to watch a TV show? By making them worry about missing out.

“How do you get them to buy a new smartphone? By making them feel like they are being left behind. To be calm becomes a kind of revolutionary act, to be happy with your own non-upgraded existence. And to be comfortable with our messy, human selves, would not be good for business.”

Self-care is important for the well-being

Precisely why, in this day and age, it has become more important than ever to actively balance this with awareness of blessings in our lives. Arianna Huffington highlights that self-care is the most important trend in well-being.

She writes, “When our whole world shrinks down to just ourselves, the smallest problems or reversals of fortunes throw us. But when we widen the circle of our concern, we’re less concerned with the self — we’re less narcissistic, we have more perspective, we’re more empathetic, and more grateful. That has huge consequences — making us much more effective at dealing with stress, anxiety and even depression.”

There is a strong business case to solve problems in our society through unconventional methods, social entrepreneurship and exercising corporate social responsibility.

Research by Harvard Business Review in The Competitive Advantage of Corporate Philanthropy enunciates why giving matters and related factual context.

Giving and community service, is liberating, as much as it is personally transformative. I hope each one of us experiences that to invite more positivity in our lives.

A version of this was first published here.

Picture credits: Pexels

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